The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost to the public purse was of repayments made following the Manual Process 217 computer errors in child maintenance collection.
Priti Patel
From February 2015 to November 2015 the Department has awarded 305 payments for financial loss under Manual Process 217, at a cost of £122,000.
Note: This figure has been rounded to the closest thousand pounds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers have been culled in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 to date.
George Eustice
A total of 615 badgers were culled in 2014; 341 in Somerset, and 274 in Gloucestershire. These data were published in December 2014. A report on the outcome of the 2015 badger cull will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the officers employed at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre are male.
James Brokenshire
Management information shows that the proportion of male officers employed at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre as of 17 November 2015 is 51%.
Deployment of staff to the accommodation units is reviewed on a daily basis by Serco, with the aim of two-thirds of staff on female units being female officers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of when vocal cord transplants will be available on the NHS.
Jane Ellison
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have not been approached regarding vocal cord transplants by any NHS Commissioners at this time.
The availability and appropriateness of vocal cord transplants will be a matter for clinical decision. If a commissioning body seeks to provide a vocal cord transplant, NHSBT will work with them and other stakeholders to locate a suitable donor.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement the Infertility Network UK recommendations on access to IVF treatment.
Jane Ellison
The Department funded Infertility Network UK (INUK) to develop advice to NHS Commissioners on standardising eligibility criteria for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. The Department has consistently encouraged NHS Commissioners to have regard to this advice. The INUK advice is listed as a resource for clinical commissioning groups (CCG) in the NHS England “Commissioning Fertility Services Factsheet”.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend that eligible couples should receive three full cycles of IVF treatment. The Government has made clear that blanket restrictions on treatment are unacceptable and all decisions on treatment should be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs and in line with NICE Guidelines.
While we have not made an assessment of access to IVF treatment, we are aware of the annual survey by Fertility Fairness. I have written to stakeholders, including Fertility Fairness, and invited them to discuss what could be done to improve the provision of IVF services along with representatives of NHS England and Monitor.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department plans to spend on armed forces veterans’ mental health services in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.
Alistair Burt
NHS England has £1.8 million per annum baseline (recurrent to 2019/20) funding for veterans mental health services. This funding is used to provide 10 veterans mental health teams across England to meet locally identified needs of veterans and manage the network of providers of National Health Service commissioned veterans mental health services.
The funding also provides access for veterans to on-line mental health counselling services provided by the Big White Wall.
In addition, NHS England provides £3.2 million a year to commission the Armed Forces service charity Combat Stress to provide specialised inpatient services for the treatment of complex post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In 2014/15 additional funding of £1.68 million was used to fund three pilots to develop and test enhanced models of care for veterans.
The pilots will:
NHS England will soon commence a consultation to explore the future service needs for veterans mental health services. Future procurement will depend upon the outcome of this consultation as services will be commissioned to take account of revised needs assessments.
Veterans are also able to access the full range of NHS mental health services in the same way as the wider public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the appropriateness of the level of apprenticeship levy funding for (a) SMEs in general and (b) creative industry SMEs.
Nick Boles
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce further details of the apprenticeship levy at the Spending Review, including the scope and rate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the length of time it would take to deploy 10,000 armed forces personnel in the event of a civil emergency.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence has developed a comprehensive deployment plan for this force in cooperation with the police and Home Office; this includes timescales to deploy.
I am withholding information about response times for reasons of operational security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the statutory minimum level for a local authority trading standards service.
Nick Boles
There is no statutory minimum level for a local authority trading standards service. It is a locally based service, accountable to local communities and therefore the decision making process lies at a local level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many new EU regulations have become law in the UK since May 2015.
Mr David Lidington
There are different types of EU laws, some of which are directly applicable in the UK (regulations), and others which may require domestic implementing measures to give them full effect (such as directives). Sometimes administrative rules or guidelines will be needed in the UK whilst on other occasions legislation may be necessary. Additionally, EU legislation may be new, or it may amend or repeal existing legislation. There is often a delay before an EU law enters into force for instance in order to enable Member States to adopt the necessary domestic implementing measures; different parts of EU laws may enter into force at different times. The information which brings together all these categories of EU measures is not held centrally. However details of all EU-derived legislation currently on the statute book in the UK can be found on our website at: legislation.gov.uk and on the Official Journal of the EU at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html